By Brooke Anderson

 

WASHINGTON, 20 Sept. - (ANA) - Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of Oakland’s international airport on Thursday morning to protest aviation arms supplies shipments for Israel's war on Gaza and to demand an arms embargo.

 

A recent report has found that the airport is second only to Dallas-Fort Worth for such shipments, and it could soon surpass the Texas hub if a new warehouse is approved.

 

Demonstrators formed a circle and waved Palestinian flags and held signs, as local activists, including faith leaders and union workers, took turns making speeches at a lectern with a banner reading, "Oakland People's Arms Embargo".

 

As they condemned the arms shipments, they emphasised Oakland's history of civil rights advocacy.

 

"Let us continue the great Oakland tradition of fighting against our oppressors," said Monadel Herzallah, a member of the US Palestinian Community Network.

 

 

"Together, we can not only stop these shipments from leaving these ports, but we can stop the genocidal state of Israel once and for all," he said.

 

"We refuse to accept complicity in the town. An airport should be a place where we deliver ourselves to our loved ones, not a place where we deliver mayhem, death and destruction," Zach Norris, deputy director of the Black Organising Project, told the crowd.

 

"I love this place because the people here, we stand for justice. This is the birthplace of the Black Panther Party," he said.

 

After the speeches, the demonstrators marched from the airport's main entrance to the connector train station, as they chanted, "Oakland Airport, drop your cargo! We demand an arms embargo!"

 

Oakland was one of the first US cities to pass a ceasefire resolution for Israel's war on Gaza in November 2023 with unanimous votes in the city council. In December 2023, the area's then-congressional representative Barbara Lee was one of the few lawmakers to call for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.

 

So far, the area's elected officials have not publicly commented on PYM's report, which was released in August. The Oakland International Airport has also not commented.

 

The 15-page report, based on human rights investigations and exports data, has found that since January there have been at least 280 military cargo shipments via FedEx departing from Oakland International Airport, with Nevatim Airbase in Israel base as the main final destination. These shipments, supplied by Lockheed Martin, have included F-35 fighter jet components for carrying and releasing munitions and guide weapons.

 

More specifically, the report found that the shipments were consistently frequent (with only one week of a lull in transfers in six months); the materials delivered are wide-ranging, from lethal systems to small bolts; Nevatim is identified as the final destination for the materials; the shipments are coming from the Defence Logistics Agency in San Joaquín; and F-35s are confirmed to be used by Israel in Gaza.

 

"We're taking on this campaign, the Oakland People's Arm's Embargo, and we're appealing to our institutions and elected officials," Dina Saadeh, a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, told The New Arab.

 

"We have a duty, now that we know what is happening under our noses," she said. "This killer cargo has to leave our locale. This is an opportunity for us to be the first city in the United States to impose an arms embargo."   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/20 September 2025 - - -